You are here

The facts of the case of Commissioner AFP v Ganesh Kalimuthu & Anor [2017] WASC 108 are superficially simple but that simplicity belies a state of affairs that is not at all straightforward. It involves cross-border payments, the use of an unlicensed money transmitter thinking him to be licensed but which turned out to be a hawala-style transaction of the sort that criminal gangs developed in the Philippines to facilitate expatriation of proceeds of illegal gambling. Now someone has given it a name - the especially stupid name of "cuckoo smurfing." The AFP made a logical decision to freeze moneys but the logic has been defeated by the Court. WMLR looks at the case which, at least in part, is a reflection of the dreadful drafting of Australia's Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.